THE SUPREME COUNCIL
The Sovereigns appear to have submitted without protest to this papal
interference and to the revocation of the faculty bestowed upon them of
nominating the inquisitors in their kingdom. This submission was hardly
to have been expected from their earlier attitude, but there are two
reasons, either or both of which may possibly account for it.
It will be remembered that there was a considerable number of
New-Christians about the Court and in immediate attendance upon the
Queen, one of whom was her secretary Pulgar. What view Pulgar took of
the Seville proceedings we know, and it is not too much to assume that
his view was the view of all Christians of Jewish extraction. These
New-Christians and others may very well have urged upon the notice of
the Sovereigns the cruelties and injustices that were being practised,
drawing their attention to the decree that made innocent children
suffer for the offences of which their parents had been convicted--a
decree which, hideous enough when the parents were actually guilty,
became unspeakably hideous when that guilt was no more than presumed.
In view of such representations the Sovereigns may have found the papal
rebuke unanswerable and the Pope’s action justified.
Then, again, they may have taken into consideration the projected war
upon Granada, the last province of the peninsula remaining in Moorish
hands. Funds were urgently required for this campaign, and the
confiscations that were daily being effected by the Holy Office were
rapidly supplying these--for the early victims of the Inquisition, as
we know, were persons of great wealth and distinction.[77]
Now the papal brief, whilst it cancelled the royal prerogative of
appointing inquisitors, did not attempt to divert the course of this
stream of confiscated property, nor, indeed, made any mention of
the matter. So that they may have hesitated to oppose themselves to
measures which they recognized as just and which continued to supply
them with the means for what they looked upon as a righteous crusade.
Bigotry and acquisitiveness were again joining forces, and, united,
they must prove, as ever, irresistible.
But on February 11, 1482, the Roman Curia issued another brief
addressed to the Sovereigns, wherein--entirely ignoring what already
had been written--it was announced that the General of the Dominicans,
Fr. Alonso de Cebrian, having represented to the Pope the need to
multiply the number of inquisitors in Spain, his Holiness had resolved
to appoint the said Fr. Alonso and seven other Dominicans to conduct
the affairs of the Holy Office in that kingdom, commanding them to
exercise their ministry in conjunction with the diocesan ordinary and
in accordance with the terms set forth in the briefs that were being
addressed to them.[78]
One of the eight Dominicans mentioned by the Pope was Fr. Tomás de
Torquemada, who by now was become confessor to the King and to the
Cardinal of Spain.
This brief, following so rapidly upon that which revoked the
Sovereigns’ power, may have caused Ferdinand and Isabella to look upon
it as the second move in an intrigue whose aim was to strengthen the
ecclesiastical arm in Spain to the detriment of the royal authority.
On April 17 Sixtus sent the promised instructions to the inquisitors of
Aragon, Cataluña, Valencia, and Mallorca. These indicated a procedure
in matters of faith so contrary to common law, that no sooner did the
inquisitors attempt to carry them into execution than there was an
uproar which afforded Ferdinand grounds upon which to indite a protest
to the Holy Father.
A reply came in the following October. Sixtus wrote that the briefs of
last April had been drawn up after conference with several members of
the Sacred College; that these cardinals were now absent from Rome,
but that on their return the matter should be further considered.
Meanwhile, however, in view of the results that had attended those
briefs, he was informing the inquisitors that they were exempt from
acting upon the terms set forth in them and instructing them to
proceed, as formerly, in co-operation with the diocesan ordinaries.
But in the meantime, for all the Pope’s protest against the excessive
severity of the Seville tribunal, this severity continued so
undiminished, not only in Seville but also in the districts under
the jurisdiction of other inquisitors, that there was a continuous
emigration from Spain of the wealthy New-Christian families. Many
of these repaired to Rome to appeal to the Pontifical Courts and to
procure there an absolution which should accord them immunity from the
Spanish tribunals of the Holy Office.
But even when this absolution was procured a large number of these
emigrants never thought of returning to Spain, considering it wiser to
settle in a country in which they were in less danger of persecution.
Although it is certain that the Sovereigns can have had no prevision of
what actually was to happen as a consequence--though not in their own
day, nor for some time afterwards--although they may have been very
far from foreseeing that by driving out these energetic, industrious,
intelligent men they were depriving the country of the financially
able, wealth-producing element of the community--still they did
undoubtedly perceive what was immediately before them; and they began
to fear the possibility of their country’s being drained of its present
wealth if these emigrations were to continue.
So Isabella wrote to the Pope entreating him to establish a court of
appeal in Spain, and thus dispose that proceedings started within the
kingdom could there be carried to their conclusion without the need
for these appeals to Rome. To this the Pope replied in affectionate
terms on February 23, 1483, promising to give the matter every
consideration.[79]
Shortly thereafter he held a conference of the Spanish Cardinals, the
principal of whom in wealth, importance, and distinction was Roderigo
Borgia, Cardinal of Valencia. At this conference several provisions
were agreed upon, and these were embodied in the briefs dispatched from
the Vatican on May 25 following.
The first of these was to the Sovereigns. It contained a gracious
assent to their petition, and exhorted them to be zealous in this
matter of the Faith, reminding them that Jehu had consolidated his
kingdom by the destruction of idolatry, and that the Sovereigns would
meet with the same good fortune, as already God was giving them many
victories over the Moors to reward their piety and the purity of their
faith.
The second was to Iñigo Manrique, Archbishop of Seville (having
succeeded in this see to the Cardinal of Spain, who was now Archbishop
of Toledo), appointing him judge of appeal in _Causas de Fé_.
The remaining briefs were addressed to the Archbishop of Toledo and
the other Spanish archbishops, commanding them, to the end that the
functions of the Inquisition should be discharged with integrity,
that in the event of there being in their ecclesiastical provinces any
bishops who were of Jewish descent, they should suavely admonish these
not to intervene in person in the proceedings of the Holy Office, but
to allow themselves to be represented by their principal officials,
provisors, and diocesan vicars-general--always provided that none of
these was of Jewish blood.
This decree was natural enough, and there was some occasion for it,
considering the number of Spanish families of Jewish consanguinity as
a consequence of marriages between Christians and _conversos_--many
of these marriages having been contracted between Castilians of good
birth and the daughters of wealthy baptized Jews. It is a decree that
entirely contradicts Pulgar’s assertion that Torquemada was of Jewish
extraction.
The appointment of Manrique as judge of appeal was a very brief one,
nor did it work satisfactorily and accomplish what the Queen desired.
In the following August came another papal brief, stating that,
notwithstanding that appointment, fugitive New-Christians from the
Archbishopric of Seville continued to arrive in Rome and to make their
appeals to the Apostolic Courts, protesting that they dared not address
these to the appointed tribunal in Seville, for fear of being treated
with excessive rigour.
Many stated that, by virtue of the ban against them for having left
the city, they were fearful of being flung into prison unheard. Many,
again, had already been tried during their absence and burnt in effigy,
and they were apprehensive that if they returned their appeals would
be refused a hearing, and they would be sent at once to the flames in
execution of the sentence already pronounced against them.
Therefore the Pope now ordered Manrique to admit to reconciliation
all who might seek it, in despite of any judgment or sentence already
passed upon them.
Had these commands prevailed, the destruction wrought by the
Inquisition would have been considerably reduced, since none could
have suffered but the persistent apostate. The brief, however, does
not appear to have been even dispatched. No sooner was its merciful
decree indited than it was regretted and retracted. Eleven days later
Sixtus wrote to Ferdinand acquainting him with the terms of that brief
which had been intended for Manrique, but explaining that these had not
been sufficiently considered, and that, therefore, he was retaining it
whilst fresh measures were deliberated.
The position must have been growing intolerable to the Sovereigns,
for the Holy Office in Spain, directed in this fashion from Rome, was
governed by unstable and ever-shifting elements that were eminently
disturbing to the State--particularly now that the Inquisition was
growing rapidly in importance. Therefore Isabella wrote again,
imploring the Holy Father to give that institution a settled form. To
this the Pope acceded, perhaps himself aware of the necessity for the
thing requested. A head was necessary for the consolidated institution
it was now proposed to form, and Frey Tomás de Torquemada, from what
was known of his life, his character, and his ability, was judged to be
the man to fill this important office. Accordingly he was recommended
to Sixtus by the Sovereigns, and he received his appointment from the
Pope, first as Grand Inquisitor for Castile, and soon after (by the
bull of October 17, 1483) his jurisdiction was extended to include
Aragon; so that he found himself at the head of the Holy Office in
Spain, and invested with the fullest powers. It was his to elect,
depose, and replace subaltern inquisitors at his will, and the
jurisdiction of all those he appointed was subject to and dependent
upon himself.[80]
Llorente says of him: “The result accredited the election. It seemed
almost impossible that there should be another man so capable of
executing the intentions of King Ferdinand to multiply confiscations,
the intentions of the Roman Curia to propagate its jurisdiction
and pecuniary maxims, and the intentions of the projectors of the
Inquisition and its Autos de Fé to inspire terror.”[81]
With his elevation to that important position--a position whose
importance his own energy and determination were to increase until
his power in the land should almost rival that of the Sovereigns
themselves--the Spanish Inquisition enters now upon a new phase. Under
the jurisdiction and control of that stern-souled, mild-eyed ascetic,
the entire character of the Holy Office is transformed.
Immediately upon his appointment he set about reconstituting it so that
it should be in harmony with the wishes of the Sovereigns. To assist
him he appointed as his assessors the jurisconsults Juan Gutierrez de
Lachaves and Tristan de Medina, and he proceeded to establish four
permanent tribunals: one in Seville, under Morillo and San Martin,
whom he left undisturbed in their office, but subject to the new rules
which he laid down for the transaction of affairs; one in Cordova,
under Pedro Martinez de Barrio and Anton Ruiz Morales, with Fr. Martin
de Caso as assessor; one in Jaen, under Juan Garcia de Cañas and Fr.
Juan de Yarza; and one in Villa Real,[82] which shortly afterwards was
transferred to Toledo, under Francisco Sanchez de la Fuente and Pedro
Dias de Costana.
In addition to these he appointed other inquisitors who, without being
attached to any permanent tribunal, were to proceed wherever he should
direct them as occasion arose to set up temporary courts.
In Toledo, Valladolid, Avila, Segovia, and other cities there were
inquisitors already of the Pope’s appointing. Some of these failed to
show the complete submission to his orders which Torquemada demanded,
with the result that they were promptly deposed and their places filled
by others whom he nominated. Those who manifested obedience to his rule
he confirmed in their appointments, but usually he sent a nominee of
his own to act in conjunction with them.
Torquemada himself remained at Court; for now that the Inquisition was
established upon its new footing it became necessary that he should
be in constant communication with the Sovereigns for whom he acted.
Consultations were necessary on the score of the measures to be taken
for the administration of what was rapidly become a corporation of
great importance in the realm. From this it presently resulted that
to the four royal councils already in existence for the conduct of
the affairs of the kingdom, a fifth was added especially to deal
with inquisitorial matters. Whether the suggestion emanated from the
Sovereigns or from Torquemada, there are no means of ascertaining, nor
does it greatly signify.
This Supreme Council of the Inquisition was established in 1484.
It consisted of three royal councillors: Alonso Carillo, Bishop of
Mazzara, Sancho Velasquez de Cuellar, and Poncio de Valencia, all
doctors of laws, and of Torquemada’s two assessors. To preside over
this “Suprema”--as the council came to be called--Torquemada was
appointed, thus enormously increasing the power and influence which
already he wielded.
The three royal councillors had a definite vote in all matters
that appertained to the jurisdiction of the Sovereigns; but in all
matters of spiritual jurisdiction, which was vested entirely in
the Grand Inquisitor by the papal bull, their votes were merely
consultative--amounting to no more than an expression of opinion.
It was Torquemada’s desire that his subordinates should act with
absolute uniformity in the discharge of the duties entrusted to them,
and that the courts of the Holy Office throughout Spain should one and
all be identical in their methods of procedure, the instruments of his
will and the expression of his conceptions. With this end in view he
summoned the inquisitors by him appointed to the Tribunals of Seville,
Cordova, Jaen, and Villa Real to confer with him and his assessors and
the royal councillors.
The assembly took place in Seville on October 29, and its business
was the formulation of the first instructions of Torquemada for the
guidance of all inquisitors.
In the library of the British Museum there is a vellum-bound copy of
the edition of this code, which was subsequently published at Madrid
in 1576.[83] It contains, in addition to Torquemada’s articles of
1484 and subsequent years, others added by his successors, and there
are marginal notes giving the authorship of each. The work is partly
printed, partly in manuscript, and a considerable number of pages
remain in blank, that further instructions may be filled in as the need
occurs. The printed matter is frequently underscored by the pen of one
or another of the inquisitors through whose hands this copy passed
during its active existence.
The twenty-eight articles compiled by Torquemada at the assembly of
1484, and constituting his first “Instructions for the Governance of
the Holy Office,” demand a chapter to themselves.